


Fitting In

by verellie



Category: Warrior (2011)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 22:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6302296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verellie/pseuds/verellie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An aftermath of Warrior (2011). Tommy didn't go to jail for AWOL criminal charge. He moved out of Paddy's attic room. He didn't train anymore. He rented a room, found a civilian job, like a normal guy. But Tommy wasn't happy about his life. Didn't even have any purposes to live it since he'd lost everything he cared about. One thing he knew was that he missed the cage, though. Frank sought him out. So Tommy had the chance to fight again. But Tommy couldn't always live in the cage. If Tommy couldn't walk out by himself, could Frank lure him out?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fitting In

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE Warrior,
> 
> After I watched the movie, I couldn't let it go so... here I am presenting you a piece of my imagination. Warrior is brilliant. The characters are brilliant. I make this happen just for the sake of Tommy fan-girling. My favorite character isn't Tommy though. It's Frank Campana.
> 
> Please be warned here that this story is going to be about Frank and Tommy.  
> It might be MxM. Slow pace. Or it would stop at a bromance level. I haven't decided yet. I will let the relationship grow.
> 
> Hope to talk to you again next time. Bye.

Tommy pulled the truck over at the side of a one-way road in front of an office building in Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh. The traditional two story building was built with red bricks in a downtown area, surrounded with people visiting shops and restaurants to grab a bite after work. The former U.S. Marine looked out of the window of the giant truck. At seven o’clock, the road was beginning to get dark.

The building’s first floor was occupied by a pizzeria called Mama’s Pizzeria. They served good coffee in the morning, served delicious pizza and pasta at lunch. The restaurant was closed at five because the owner needed to go to church. Angela, a religious Italian woman who owned the pizzeria also was the owner of the building. MM or Martin Mover rented an office space on the second floor.

Friday was always a Goddamn longest and the most exhausting day of the week for movers. Customers expected to get their moving done by the end of the week, so that they could unpack and move into the new house on weekends. No matter how absurd the moving schedules sounded, moving companies couldn’t leave customers hanging. The company couldn’t deny jobs or it’d lose both the customers and reputation.

Today Tommy and his co-worker, Thiago, had been ordered to go to the pickup location at 7 A.M. sharp. The customers were waiting. They started packing everything, loaded boxes and furniture onto the truck and delivered them. They had to endure a stupid old woman and her shit little six dogs Tommy wished he could kill some. After the first job, they had only ten minutes to grub down sandwiches and went to the next and the next pickup location, met more and more fucked up customers than the last one. And then, exhausted as hell, finally returned to the office at 7 P.M.

Being in the Corps was an easier job. The Corps provided explicit rules. To Tommy, falling into routines was a piece of cake. He woke up, ate, trained, patrolled, went to sleep. He knew what he was expected to do. No one had to please the others. Everybody was expected to conform to the rules and, more importantly, if things got out of control, tried to stay alive. There was no need for emotions. Soldiers didn’t have to smile. They didn’t even have to talk to anyone unless the action was necessary. It was OK to be emotionless. It was peaceful.

Civilian job was a disaster, especially for Tommy who hated dealing with people. He could be as polite as the next man. But out of war zones, emotionlessness was never good enough. He was expected to greet customers.To smile. To be nice. Tommy was not a friendliest person but he tried his best to look civilized. Not when someone made his blood boil though. And those civilians were good at it. Some branded him a war hero. But as a veteran of Iraq war walking the real world, he was like a baby, not knowing how to defend himself from these good citizens.

Fighting terrorists, he had guns. He could swear. He could kill them. But no, he couldn’t throw furniture. No, he couldn’t gun down those irritating customers. In this universe, he couldn’t even express his annoyance even though sometimes things made no fucking sense.

_Do not talk._

_Do not think._

_Customers are God. You suck it all up._

Thiago was snoring. Tommy lifted his gaze. The office was lit. That meant his boss and his wife were not going home yet. That was a bad news.

Martin Jordan was an ex-golfer who, ten years ago, lost both legs in a car accident. He was still struggling for his bad luck and sometimes caged himself with self-pity. But he was fair. He paid salary promptly and never yelled at his employees.

Ruth, Martin’s wife, was the opposite. She was a nag. She was a grumpy old hag. Her motto was yelling loudly and rudely at as many living souls as possible.

Ruth said goodbye to her luxurious house and a car as the same time Martin said hello to a walking stick. By some fucked up logic, instead of taking care of her husband, she blamed him for making her miserable. She made sure that Martin regretted ruining her life and demanded money everyday. Despite Martin being a handicapped old man, she never was less of a bitch to him than she was to the entire neighborhood.

The business had been slow for months. Ruth ordered Martin not to decline any jobs no matter how many hours employees had to work a day. Six employees worked approximately 10 hours a day now. Tommy didn’t complain about it like some married employees did. Overtime would be charged and the payment was more appreciable than the normal rate. Working 10 hours per day was the reason he could buy a car. But Tommy got exhausted too. Sometimes he wished the day would end at seven.

Thiago was the other worker who didn’t kick up a fuss about overtime. Thiago was, like Tommy, a highschool dropout. The kid was a sixteen year old supporting himself. He would pass as a fully grown man for his size. The boy was huge. Gorilla huge. With a brain of a squirrel. He sometimes couldn’t remember where he left customer’s belongings. But the kid was easy to work with and didn’t talk too much, which was preferable for Tommy.

Tommy took a file, got off the truck and closed the door waking up the snoring Thiago. He headed to a small brown door on the left side of the pizzeria. Thiago hurriedly followed but Tommy told him to go home.

Ruth greeted him with a dirty glare when Tommy opened the door of the office. She was placing her fat ass on the desk beside Martin’s laptop.

“All done?” Martin asked.

“All done, boss.” Tommy handed him the file.

“Where’s Thiago?”

“The kid’s gone home.”

Martin nodded his approval.

Ruth was still watching him closely. Martin seemed nervous looking at Tommy and his wife back and forth. Tommy lifted his brow.

“I saw the clip.” Ruth said finally.

“The one that you beat Mad Dog Grimes.” Martin added.

His employers knew about him being in U.S. Marine Corps.They were aware of the AWOL criminal charge he had faced last year. Tommy had been kept in jail for a few months. The couple was also informed that, with support from those whose lives Tommy saved in Iraq, the veteran was acquitted. But the Corps didn’t want to lose face for letting Tommy walk away that easily. They gave him an OTH discharge. Tommy couldn’t care less.

Martin and Ruth hadn’t known about the fighting. Although Tommy had absolutely no intention to hide the truth, there was no use putting ‘fighter’ in job application, was it? Fighting in Sparta wasn’t a real job. He didn’t win and didn’t earn a cent from entering the “Winner Takes All” tournament so, why bother?

It wasn’t like he did anything wrong either. He had never robbed a bank or raped a girl. Sparta was legal. It was a famous world tournament for Christ’s sake.

“What about it?” Tommy asked.

“Tommy hasn’t caused any problems since we hired him.” Martin spoke to his wife. Now Tommy could guess what Ruth was going to say.

“Look at his eyes.” Ruth pointed her finger at him. “I know! I always know that he’s dangerous.”

“It wasn’t mere street fighting, Love. He fought in Sparta tournament. It’s like… a sport.”

“Sport my ass!” Ruth spat out the word with disgust. “They were killing each other in a cage like animals! You saw him knocked the other guy out in one punch and walked away like nothing had happened.”

“Tommy’s a good guy. He’s hard working. We need him, Ruth.” Martin desperately convinced his wife.

Keeping his mouth shut, Tommy told himself not to talk back. He needed this for the living. OTH wasn’t a problem. His education background was. A guy with no high school diploma nor experience in business would never find a new job fast. He wouldn’t be able to stand himself if he had to crawl back to his father’s house.

Although, Ruth was annoying, Martin was a good boss. Martin wanted him to stay.

He could do it. He could control himself.

_Shut up and take prejudice up the ass._

“How can we trust him?”

“Nobody’s ever complained about his behavior.”

“Customers said he didn’t smile and some said he looked scary.”

“Thiago looks scarier if you ask me.”

“It’s bad enough that he’s a psycho ex-Marine who cowardly abandoned his duty.”

_Stay calm._

“Cage fighting like a savage is more disgraceful.” Ruth went on and on.

_Stay quiet._

“What if this lowlife lost his fucking mind and did something to customers?”

“I am going to give that idea a try.” Tommy’s facial expression was calm. His voice was firm. He looked directly at Ruth. “You know, ma’am? People who can’t stop talking drive me fucking nuts.”

Martin made a face like he was going to cry.

 

*****

 

Tommy walked back to his apartment at S Mathilda Street. His residence was a three story large building with a yard and two entrances. It was located only 10 minutes away from his workplace in Liberty Avenue. Tommy had never had any problems finding a place to eat.

He had found a ‘For Rent’ ad. in a local newspaper five months ago with an unbelievably cheap rental rate. He promptly gave, Mrs. Johnson, the landlord a call. The landlord told him that no one wanted to rent the place because three people were shot dead in the room. Cheap apartment versus ghosts? _Fuck ghosts._ Tommy didn’t have a second though. He signed the contract. He also happily got 20% discount on the rent. So far, so good. None of the three goners bothered him yet.

His car was parked in front of the apartment building. No need to worry about car theft. S Mathilda Street was a good and quiet neighborhood except for the shooting incident. And who would be desperate enough to risk jail time messing with his car, anyway? It was a 16 year old silver Suzuki Sedan bought for one grand. In Tommy’s opinion, he looked like a loser when he was behind the wheel. But it was better than walking. He used it when he went to visit Paddy’s or Brendan’s.

His room was on the first floor. Tommy unlocked the door and turned the light on. His home was a single bedroom apartment which large kitchen and living room combined. The room was nearly empty except for built-in kitchen cabinets and a refrigerator. According to Mrs. Johnson, this room used to be furnished with a bed, a colorful carpet, a soft sofa and dining set. But everything was blood-soaked after the shooting so Mrs. Johnson had to throw them away. When Tommy decided to rent the room, she kindly gave him a portable single bed. Tommy didn’t complain. It was better than being a bum living in the attic room of his father’s house.

Following the evening incident with Ruth, which he hadn’t do her in or anything, Tommy was suspended without pay and wasn’t informed about the length of suspension. Martin said Tommy wasn’t getting fired and he would call Tommy as soon as possible. It was bullshit. Everybody knew that suspension for long period was as good as getting pink-slipped. Tommy would go to an unemployment insurance office on Monday to claim unemployment benefits.

Tommy went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of beer. He walked back to the empty living space, sat down and began to drink. The room was very quiet he could hear his own breathing.

Although he had to drink on the floor, Tommy liked it here. He didn’t want to move out. He wished Mrs. Johnson would understand if he explained to her why he couldn’t afford to make the payment on time. He wasn’t a deadbeat. He would find the way to settle the bills.

It was his fault to provoke Ruth though. If Brendan knew about this, Tommy would get a lecture from his big brother for sure.

Brendan went back to his physics teaching business after he won Sparta tournament. He had paid his debt and now living happily with his family. Brendan wasn’t that lovey-dovey with their father Paddy, but they were in quite good terms now as they had been working together campaigning for Tommy’s release. Tommy appreciated that but it was also very humiliating.

Tommy was welcome to visit Brendan any time but he rarely stopped by of his own free will. Although, the Conlon brothers forgave each other and their father all together, Tommy felt uncomfortable to mingle with his brother’s beautiful family. He also felt ashamed for the cheap shot he pulled in the final round of the tournament. He couldn’t look his sister-in-law in the eyes. Tess was a brilliant woman though. The worst of all, he couldn’t get used to Brendan being big brother to him.

After U.S. Marines Corps let him off the hook, Brendan repeatedly convinced Tommy to stop fighting. But Tommy was broke. The quickest way to get by was jumping into the cage. Tommy fought in small fights for awhile. He trained alone. He didn’t go to Colt Boyd’s gym anymore. Mad Dog Grimes still wanted a piece of him no matter how many times and how disgracefully Tommy had knock him out. Colt nagged Tommy to enter many more tournaments. All the other guys couldn’t shut up about Tommy and his brother. They were annoying so he stopped going to the gym.

When Tommy saved up enough money, he moved out of Paddy’s attic room. Pop didn’t want him to leave but Tommy waved goodbye to his bum life for good. After that he looked for a job and later got hired by Martin.

He didn’t understand why he wanted to have a normal job in the first place. Fighting was easier and made more money. The moving job was boring. And the pay was low he had been struggling to make ends meet.

He missed the cage. He missed the thrill.

_“You have to try to fit in.” Brendan told Tommy._

Most veterans committed suicide because they couldn’t fit in. If they couldn’t fit in, they wouldn’t have a job. If they didn’t have a job, they couldn’t earn a living. They wouldn’t be able to make friends nor start a family. They would feel worthless. They would feel like shit.

Shit had nothing to live for.

Brendan shouldn’t be worried. Tommy had worked hard to fit in. He tried even though he didn’t know why the fuck he had tried at all. He didn’t like any part of this world.

His cell phone rang. Tommy pulled it out of his pants pocket.

_Speaking of the devil._

Brendan called. His brother had been calling him for a week but Tommy ignored the calls. This time, Tommy answered.

“Tommy?”

Tommy grunted.

“Are you home?”

“Yes.” Tommy scratched his head. When Brendan called, he always made an annoying small talk.

“Did you have dinner?”

“Yes.” Tommy lied. “Why the fuck are you calling me anyway?” He asked sullenly.

Brendan laughed as if he had been expecting the blow. “Are you free tomorrow?”

The big brother was trying to invite him to a home party. Tommy was sure about that.

“Why?”

“Tomorrow is Rosie’s birthday. We are going to Point State Park to have a picnic and fishing. The girls want their Uncle Tom to be there.”

For some reason Tommy didn’t want to know, his nieces like him. A lot. Rosie, the younger one sat on his lap every time he went to Brendan’s. Emily always showed him her drawing. She served him a drink and willingly shared cookies with her Uncle Tom.

Tommy didn’t have anything to do until the next Monday and it was the little girl’s birthday. Although he wasn’t thrilled to meet Brendan... “I’ll go.”

“Really?” Brendan almost shouted.

“What the fuck, Brendan?”

“You’ve been saying no for three months! And you were not answering my call.”

_Guilty as charged._

“I was busy, you know, with work and stuff.”

“Let’s meet at 10. Will you drive there or you want me to pick you up?”

“I’ll drive.”

“I’m really happy, Tommy. The girls will be very happy. We can--”

The conversation became extremely embarrassing so Tommy hung up. He drank the beer and then placed the empty bottle between his legs.

_Oh, shit._

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

Being jobless wasn’t an excuse to go to the birthday party empty-handed. He had to buy something. There was Hallmark at Liberty Avenue but it opened at 10 o’clock. Other than that, he didn’t know anywhere else he could find a gift for Rosie. He also didn’t know what to get for a girl.

_A doll? A ring? A necklace?_

Tommy was in deep shit.

He should not have ignored Brandan’s calls.

 

****

 

Tommy had only one option. At 9 o’clock, he drove around Liberty Avenue. Shops that was ready for business were the places that sold food and a flower shop. He couldn’t buy a subway’s daily special for a present, could he? Tommy pulled over in front to the flower shop and stepped out of the car.

Tommy was wearing an army green hooded jacket with worn out jeans. He always looked like an angry pit bull. He didn’t fit the profile of a guy who would buy a fancy flower bouquet. He didn’t even know how to buy one. Like, what color it should be?

A shopkeeper greeted him when he entered the shop. Tommy turned around a few times then sheepishly asked her for help. He ended up getting back in his car with a little faux flower crown.

Tommy had went for a normal bouquet, though. He had noticed one with pretty white flowers that was like those get-well-soon gifts he had seen in the army’s hospital. People usually brought gifts to sick friends and family. Tommy hadn’t had money to get any for Mom. He didn’t even have enough money to get her the worst bed in a hospital. He had thought he would look like a fool if he picked wild flowers and gave them to her so, he hadn’t done it. He had thrown away the chance.

Tommy drove to the park. His brother had already texted him that the family and guests were gathering at Point State Park Fountain. Holding the blush pink tiny roses on a simple wire in hands, Tommy dug his head and slowly dragged his feet to the rivers.

“Uncle Tom!”

Tommy heard a tiny voice followed by footsteps and Tess’s shout ordering her daughter to watch her feet. He raised his head. The ex-Marine saw a group of adults and children standing near the fountain. Paddy, his father, was among them too. Paddy was grinning happily like a fool.

A little girl with curly blond hair was skipping enthusiastically towards Tommy. She was wearing a white one-piece with red ribbon and layered skirt. Rosie stopped in front of him and spread her arms implying that she wanted to be picked up. Tommy looked at the tiny creature and hesitated. But Rosie stayed still persistently demanded to be lifted. The little girl was smiling so wide flashing her missing teeth to her uncle.

“You should pick her up.” Brendan’s voice came from behind. His big brother was carrying a foldable picnic table set and fishing equipment. Trailing behind him was his friend, Frank Campana, who owned a gym. Campana was holding a yellow smiley patterned basket in his right hand. This man was Brendan’s trainer in the last year’s Sparta tournament. Tommy had never talked to him.

Rosie was watching Tommy. Worry flooded over her face as she didn’t understand why her Uncle Tom didn’t grab her. Tess looked concerned while Brendan was holding his breath and seemed hopeful.

Everybody was looking this way too. For some reason, the women were smiling.

“Why don’t you put that lovely headband on Rosie’s head and pick her up?” The advice came from Campana.

Oh, Tommy had forgot about the gift. He was holding it with both hands at chest level like a bishop going to enthrone a queen. The fake flower crown was why the mothers were grinning ear to ear, wasn’t it? Suddenly, he felt very self-conscious he wanted to throw the crown away.

“Kid is waiting.” Campana said earnestly then went on carrying the ridiculous patterned basket to the side of the river.

Tommy watched the trainer’s back.

And then he was attacked by Rosie. The little princess was fed up with waiting so she jumped at him instead.

“Is that nice flower band for me, Uncle Tom?”

“Yeah.” Tommy nodded. He slowly placed it on her head, afraid that he might put too hard. Rosie beamed at him. She took off again, this time bouncing to her big sister to show Emily the present.

“Rosie! Say thank you!” Tess yelled.

“Thank you! Uncle Tom!” Rosie shouted back in a singsong manner.

Tess shook her head and turned to Tommy. She gave him a faint smile. “Thank you for coming.”

Tommy acknowledged.

Brendan nudged him with the hand that was holding the fishing rods. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back with a drink in a few minutes.”

The couple went to set up the table. The guests also helped preparing the party. The mothers laid out the feast while their spouses were watching over the kids. Emily was sitting with her sister and friends. She smiled shyly and waved at him. He did the same thing minus any face expression.

Tommy took in a lungful of air and stared at the rivers.

Point State Park was a famous place for outdoor activities and group meetings, so Tommy had heard. The park was located at the confluence of Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. The two gave birth to Ohio River. Point State Park was providing many kinds of activity such as boating in the big rivers, fishing and biking. Tommy had never come here nor he had been interested to. But he had to admit that this place was good for jogging too. The river wind was blowing. The trees smelled better than the streets. The views of the fountain and West End Bridge were marvelous. He might come here alone to jog next time.

“Here you go.”

Paddy held out a bottle of spring water. Tommy made a sour face.

“Sorry, boy. Tess says children are watching us so, no alcohol.”

Tommy extended his hand to grab the drink.

“Brendan said you would come. He was very excited.”

Tommy snorted.

“He was worried about you. I was...”

“Stop.” The son raised a finger. “Don’t start. I don’t wanna hear no lecture, not from you and not from him.”

Paddy made a sad, kicked-puppy face. “You hadn’t answered his calls, Tommy. You don’t call us. How can we know that you are still alive?”

“I’ve survived better without you and him.”

Paddy looked at him for a long moment. His eyes was painted with hurt and disappointment. “Yeah, Tommy. I know that.”

Tommy angrily gulped down the water.

It was Paddy and Brendan’s false their family wasn’t close and warm like the families Tess had invited. Paddy had abused them. His drinking habit had torn them apart. Brendan had been a betrayer. He had made a promise to Mom and Tommy. But when the time came to run away from Pop, Brendan had chosen his fucking puppy love over Mom and Tommy. Tommy knew then that they were low on Brendan’s list of priorities.

Tommy had to abandon the only place he could call home. He couldn’t go to school because they were poor and Mom was sick. Mom had to break her back or they wouldn’t have a place to sleep. He couldn’t stand the sight of her getting weaker and weaker everyday and he couldn’t stand himself for being so helpless. He couldn’t provide her anything. He could only grow up fast. He did every God damned thing he had to do to unshoulder Mom’s burden. In the end, he decided to join the Marines to help with the financial problem so that Mom could get herself a medical treatment. But in the end, Mom died alone while Tommy was so far, far away, risking his life on a daily basis.

Tommy always defended for himself. He had no family. No father. No brother.

Suddenly, they reunited. These guys wanted to reach out to him. They tried to take care of him, to _mother_ him. And when he cut them off basically because of annoyance, he was the bad guy.

The old man let out a heartbreaking sigh before saying, “You know that we…”

_Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it._

“I’ll get someone to call you when I die. Are you satisfied now?”

Tommy stomped away.

Paddy didn’t have the rights to look painful. Brendan didn’t deserve to be a caring brother.

_You cannot fix the past. If you want to make it right, you have to do it right from the start._

What had they done? They had kicked him in the guts. Tommy resented them for trying to tattoo the scar with too late care and affection. He said he had forgiven them, but deep down inside, he couldn’t forgive. He still felt the pain.

_The betrayal._

And most of all, he hated this creepy emotional shit.

 

****

 

After they sang Happy Birthday and the cake was done, everybody slid into a rhythm of idle chatter. Tommy wandered off. Brendan looked at him like he was going to say something. Tommy thanked the Lord the big brother didn’t ask him to exert himself to join a small talk or even stay in the group of strangers. He sat down at the farmost riverbank, turning his back to the crowd. He heard a man saying he was going to fish in the background.

Tommy bent his knees and leaned down to place his arms on them. Today was warm. Tommy felt like taking his jacket off. City birds sang to the soothing sound of nature. Silver glows coated the river under the sky of blue. He watched the powerful stream rush through and disappear under the West End Bridge. A sword of mallards were floating along the water surface, some occasionally dipping its head into the water to grab a bite.

Children were laughing. They were playing tag now. Loud playful screams came around but the footsteps never came close.

“Want some coffee?”

Rich baritone voice and strong smell of coffee intruded his personal space. Tommy turned his head and saw Frank Campana. Campana offered a big smile that made the rest of his face wrinkled. The man was holding a white paper cup. Tommy raised his hand. Campana bent down to pass the cup on.

“Thanks.” Tommy said quietly but he didn’t sip the drink.

Campana didn’t go away. He rubbed the back of his neck, turned left and right a few times. But he didn’t go away. Even though Tommy gave no intention to communicate.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Tommy threw a brief gaze at him. He nodded. “Go on.”

Campana sat down.

_A minute-long chat didn't require sitting down._

“I asked Brendan to call you many times in the last two months.” The trainer started. “But he couldn’t get hold of you.”

Tommy didn’t answer. He just took a sip.

He didn’t know Campana. But he did know that this guy went way back with Brendan. He was an MMA trainer famous for jacking off to classical music. Campana became the most wanted coach for BJJ since the last year’s victory.

“I need help at the gym.” Campana licked his lips.

Tommy met Campana’s eyes but didn’t show any interest.

“Look, because of your brother, everyone wants me to be their trainer. My place’s full right now. And there are three guys I have to train for Sparta.”

“Sparta?” Tommy knotted his brows.

“Last year was a big success. The next tournament is coming. J.J. is more than willing to pay another 5 millions.”

“And you’re gonna train three guys?”

“They all want to enter but I already told them I would put down only the name of the strongest one.”

“Are they good?”

“They are quite good.” Campana didn’t hide the hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. “I need someone who could whip them into shape. Someone strong.”

“You’re asking me to train these guys? I… I’m no trainer.”

“No. I need you to be their opponent. If they can’t knock you down, I’ll tell them to stop daydreaming.”

Tommy thought a little bit. And then he shook his head. “I don’t want to be no dummy.”

“No! Not a dummy.” Campana waved his hand. “I want you to fight them with all you’ve got.”

“Can’t do it.”

Campana bit the inside of his cheek. “I know… Brendan told me you work on weekdays. How about we set up the demonstration fights on Saturday or Sunday. You call the shots.”

Tommy breathed in deeply. He didn’t want anything to do with Frank Campana, let alone working for him. But apart from being Campana’s employee, the deal did sound alluring. Especially when he was jobless.

“What do you think?” Campana pressed him one more time.

Should he stand his ground and say no?

Or should he tell Campana he’d think about it?

He also had another option which was telling Campana to fuck off.

“Hey!” He heard Brendan’s voice. The two looked at their left and saw the last year Sparta’s champion jogging their way with a pair of sunglasses and fishing gloves on. Brendan smiled nervously at Tommy, then jerked his chin to his friend. “Have you talked to him?”

“I am talking to him.” Campana sounded assuring but his displeased expression spoke volumes about Tommy’s answer.

Brendan dropped his lip. “Tommy. You... turned him down?”

Tommy closed his eyes and emptied the coffee cup in one gulp.

Brendan looked at Campana. “Did you tell him you actually want to hire him as a full-time trainer?” And then he turned his face to talk to his little brother. “I thought you’d like the offer.”

Brendan was being annoying. Tommy clutched the paper cup so hard it became an apple core. He was going to stand up and go home when Campana said to Brendan.

“Umm, Brendan, I think your princesses are looking for you.”

Brendan looked over his shoulder. His daughters were with Tess. Emily was wearing an orange life vest. Tess talked to the girls and pointed at three of them.

“I’d better go back. Emily wants to ride a boat.” Brendan told them. He reluctantly turned back. Before walking away, he spun around one more time. “Do you guys want to fish, too?”

Campana shook his head slowly. “I don’t have a licence, mate. You have fun without me.”

“That I will do.” Brendan gave them lopsided grin then got back to his family.

Campana watched Brendan walk away. After that he dropped his shoulder and let out a long sigh.

“I didn’t know he’s so overprotective.”

Tommy looked sideways at him.

Campana clicked his tongue. “No, I didn’t mean you have to be pampered or anything. But Brendan couldn’t stop talking about you. It’s annoying sometimes. I mean… you are not a kid.”

Tommy fully turned to face his companion. He raised his brows wrinkling his forehead. “So, earlier was a polite way to say ‘fuck off’?”

Campana paused. And then burst out laughing. “Yes. Yes, it was.”

Tommy listened quietly until the laughter started to wither. “So, he asked you to hire me?”

Campana's cheerful smile faded. He threw back the gaze at Tommy. “No. I asked him to call you. I know you’ll be a good hire. He didn’t recommend me anything except that you’re a nice young man.”

“He did?”

“He couldn’t stop. But I don’t give shit about nice. I want a tough, reliable fighter. You fit the profile.” He said with a serious face. “It would be great if you came to work for me, Tommy. I really need it.”

Tommy really needed the money, too. This job would solve his financial problem and it could send him straight back into the ring. Everyday. This was killing two fucking birds with one fucking stone.

Tommy straightened his back. “You will have me full-time?”

“I want to.”

“Even though I believe in striking and wrestling more than submissions?”

Campana grinned. “Why don’t you come to the gym on Monday so I can show you how brave you are to say that?”

Tommy snorted. “No need.”

He had learned it the hard way.

He lost the final round with Brendan, resulting in a dislocated shoulder and, worse than the physical damage, being hugged by the overly protective super annoying brother for the whole world to see.

_Fucking Jiu Jitsu._

“BJJ’s great but I will go for a Powerbomb.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_To be continued._


End file.
